Code Lyoko: Ignition
by redeemer315
Summary: The world has changed. Its people herald me as their savior, the person who stopped their utter destruction. But I've got to tell them the truth. It's killing me inside. Literally. I am no hero. (Rated T)
1. Proloque

Code Lyoko: Ignition

PROLOQUE

I don't remember much.

I've been losing my memory for a while now, and some things are still fading. I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. After all, going to Hell and back can do that to a person.

What I can remember, given the past month's events, is astounding, but it still pales in comparison to what I've forgotten: My father and mother, my best friend's name, even my own dreams.

It scares me, to know that I'm knowing less each day. All I get whenever I try to think of key moments in my past is a giant blotch, an inky blackness which I can feel consuming my very being as I write this. Not a day goes by that I don't forget something else.

At this point, you either feel sympathetic towards me for suffering through this hard-to-explain ordeal, or you feel an intense need to laugh at my pain. In both cases, I am disappointed. I do not want you to laugh, nor do I wish for your heartfelt inquiries into my past. The reason for this is simple;

I am no hero.

My name is Jason. It's getting hard to remember my last name. I think it had something to do with wonder… Oh, well. My name is just one of many memories which I wish I could, but ultimately cannot, recollect. Maybe it is in those blocked images that I can unlock the secrets of a world claiming me to be a hero.

Even though I can't remember, I know more than most people. For example, I know who you are. All I need to do is look at this slip of paper and think of who's reading it. The ginger who just got a 100% on a math test. The blonde who's going against the grain and is reading something to prove everyone else wrong. The guy stuck in the friend-zone because the aforementioned blonde already has a boyfriend.

There is no heaven. There is no hell. Everything you were ever told is a lie. Magic is real, and dragons fly way above our heads. No one ever sees it because no one takes the time. (It used to be that they didn't. Recently, that changed. But we'll get back to that.) They exist, hiding in plain view. They sit and watch you as you skate home from school. They stare at you while you sift through the clothes in your drawers. They sleep in your closet while you search for your homework. You might not believe in them, but they believe in you.

They're real, and most of them are good.

But that's the problem.

The only reason good exists is because there is, and forever will be, evil for it to stand against.

Before I go any further, I need to lay down a couple of rules.

Rule Number One: Never forget

Rule Number Two: Deny everything.

Good. You're ready. Follow me. There is no rabbit hole. No one will remember what happens now. No Superman will come to your rescue.

Oh, and one last thing.

Bring friends.


	2. Chapter 1: Leaving Lyoko Behind

Chapter 1: Leaving Lyoko Behind

"Jason, get to the tower!" I heard a girl yell from behind me. "Aelita's waiting for you there!"

That's how it started, with a girl yelling my name.

"She's… code… exit…" I struggled to understand what she said, but not before a bunch of animals attacked me. I use the term "animals" loosely.

There were three creatures, flying above me and trying to latch onto my head. Two were at ground level, their single-legged determination to kill me apparent in their method of attack: Lasers. There was one, about my size, practically sprinting towards me and shoving out its bladed hands in my general direction, hoping to eventually stab me.

These creatures had changed from their original forms, some of them drastically. Their names had changed with them. I was now facing down three Jackals, two Pyres, and a single Saw. I'm just glad there wasn't a Titan to dampen the mood.

"You heard the girl. Get going!" Another voice said as my friend, Yuna, showed up at my side.

Yuna Momotaru was an odd friend. She hates violence with a burning passion, but she practices various forms of martial arts. Her heart of gold is always in contention with her logic, especially when it comes to animals. Her yearbook actions prove it.

"Remind me again why I'm doing this?" I asked her.

"Taelia still doesn't trust you, especially after what happened to Justin." She muttered as she clawed at the closest Jackal. "You're here to finish what you started. We're here to stop Chronos. The only reason she's letting you help us is because we're both working towards the same goal."

I turned sharply towards her, saying as I did "What happened to Justin… After all we did to help him, he decided against coming back with us. That was his choice, and he paid for it."

"We all did." I heard a loud voice boom from the sky.

That was Atlas Grace, my best friend and rival. He's a technological mastermind, who's grades are suffering because he's been too busy trying to get a girl instead of studying for his next test.

"We all know what the Black Void can do to someone. Add that in with Chronos screwing with his mind… There's no way he could've come back from that." Atlas said.

"Maybe not, but he was my responsibility. I don't think I should be forgiven…" I looked towards Taelia, remembering why she had reason to hate me and the way it was before she did. "I just think I should leave before anyone else gets hurt." Yuna shook her head slightly, making it aware that she disagreed. "Jason, you know that's not how it works."

"I don't care!" I shouted. "Justin proved it when he… Justin showed me how wrong this place can be. I don't want a part of it anymore. I don't want to live in constant fear for my life, or my friends'."

I could hear Atlas sigh. "There's just no changing your mind, is there?"

I chuckled, an old joke between me and him. "Never."

A burst of sound hit my ear then – Something along the lines of WHOMP – As another creature arrived to join the party, a second Saw. Taelia popped up beside me then, holding her knives in her hands. "Jason, are you going to the Tower or not?"

That was it. The final question.

"Yes." I nodded, and walked steadily towards the Tower.

I heard Yuna and Taelia yell behind me, fending off the forces trying to stop me from entering the Tower. I placed one hand on the side of the Tower, watching it fall through until I could only see my arm from the wrist up. I turned around, looking at my now-former allies for the last time. Yuna had one of her hands halfway through a Pyre and the other shoving away a Jackal. Taelia had both of her knives deflecting the assault of the two Saws. Atlas, I could imagine, was typing away at the keyboard and concocting some new scheme to thwart Chronos's next plan. I turned back towards the Tower, walking through to the platform beyond.

"You're late." I heard Aelita say from the center of the platform.

"The welcoming committee wanted a speech." I muttered, sad that I was finally going to leave. "Did you miss it, when you first left Lyoko?"

"Yes, we all did." She nodded, grabbing my shoulder in an attempt – and failure – to comfort me. "I spent most of my life in Lyoko, thinking it was the only place there was. When Jeremy brought me to the real world, I couldn't help but think of this place." She sighed. "There's so much potential here."

"Sure, but its potential is wasted."

She laughed. "At least it's being used." She made a screen appear in mid-air. "Atlas has perfected his END Program. The moment you type the code, you will be removed from Lyoko. Your memories will stay, but not forever. They'll begin to fade, slowly at first." She leaned in to whisper into my ear. "The code also contains another, inlaid code which can't be removed. It will automatically transfer to your memory and can't be removed." She smiled in a weird way after that and walked out of the Tower.

In that moment, I chose to remember every adventure I'd ever had in Lyoko; All the funny, awesome moments I'd had with Yuna; All the confusing, awkward ones with Taelia, until I eventually came to something I'd heard Justin say.

"Just because you can justify what you're doing doesn't make it right. This whole time that we've been fighting this Chronos virus, did you ever stop to think that what we're doing isn't making this better? This was his world, and we stomped into it like we owned it. If we'd left it alone, perhaps we'd never be in this mess. Instead, we fight it because 'we have to', 'to save the world', and 'it's the only option'. The choices we made caused this, and we deny it because we can justify our actions. Just because you can justify what you're doing doesn't make it right."

I wiped a tear from my eye and typed on the screen "Code: EXODUS", leaving behind a fearful life and gaining a whole new one.


End file.
